Daytona USA XBox 360 Review
Overall, this is an excellent port; things have definitely come along way since this was first seen in arcades, some of the fundamentals of the game certainly still hold up to modern races, particularly the driving.

Rating:

3.8

Gameplay

8.5

Graphics

7.0

Sound

7.5

Value

7.5

Distributor:
SEGA
Review Date: Dec 2011
Reviewer: Ash Pinch

7.6

Daytona USA

Nostalgia can get you along way with video games, take a look at
Daytona USA, this latest attempt at porting the original arcade
smash is by far the best effort yet. There have been virtually no
tweaks to the original, and quite frankly, for this title is
shouldn’t really be any other way, I know I wanted a nostalgic
response to this game, and that is exactly what I got.

There have been a some new modes added to the formula, there are
missions that serve as kind of a tutorial, time trial and also a
survival mode, here you must drive for as long as possible, however
hitting other cars or walls makes the car more difficult to drive,
and hitting cones gives you more time, it is a good mode that
provides plenty of challenge for even the most experienced Daytona
USA players.

Gaming has come along way since this was originally seen in arcades,
not everything holds up to modern racers but surprisingly, there are
some aspects that still do. One huge area where comparisons to
modern games sees the largest division is the graphics, graphically
is game features huge polygons and seriously simplistic, albeit
extravagant back drops. Fortunately for Daytona USA people will not
play this game for awesome visuals, and the graphics do not take
away from the experience anyway, I know personally I would have been
more disappointed in this if they had reworked the graphics. They
have however, increased the draw distances, which is a welcome
change.

The game retains it excellent and ultra arcade-like handling model,
the controls have been carried over excellently to a game pad, never
the same as sitting in the arcade but still thoroughly enjoyable
nonetheless. There are only really two options for the driving,
manual or auto, there are no fancy driving aids to assist, just
straight up racing. There are a total of three memorable tracks
featured in Daytona USA, each of these also mirrored. This is not a
great deal, but these are classic tracks and really, aren’t these
the only three tracks that really matter when playing this.

Sound wise, things are virtually unchanged, the sounds of these
classic arcade games always seem to tickle the nostalgia bone, and
again this something that is outdated, but I have little doubt that
if they were changed there would be outrage. The cars and effects
are all the same and are fine, they serve their purpose, and that
seems to primarily be nostalgia. The presentation also remains
unchanged, as has the all important commentator.

Overall, this is an excellent port; things have definitely come
along way since this was first seen in arcades, some of the
fundamentals of the game certainly still hold up to modern races,
particularly the driving. For those that spent their youth racing
around these three tracks this is definitely worth a download, for
those who love racing games and have little or no experiences
playing this game, it is also worth a look just to see what was
popular years ago.